Dialogue
Saara Vuorensola-Barnes
What’s your role at CMI?
I lead the work of CMI’s Quality Assurance and Risk Management team, focusing on ensuring that as an organisation we have processes and practices in place for planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning, as well as for risk management. This entails working with external donors and internal peacemaking practitioners and other support functions, to ensure our work is done with quality and dedication and in compliance with the rules set by our funders.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
Dialogue, listening and being listened to, is a key method in all we do at CMI. Our work does not take place in a vacuum, but as the external environment where peacemaking takes place goes through changes, so does our ways of addressing those needs. Understanding those needs and changes requires us to have constant dialogue with external and internal actors to increase the shared understanding of the importance of peacemaking in addressing conflicts.
Compromise
Edward Marques
What’s your role at CMI?
I lead the Eurasia team, which focuses on Europe and the wider Eurasian space. Our main area of work are in Ukraine, Moldova and the South Caucasus. Our team of expert practitioners are among the top in our field and conduct incredible work throughout the region.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
Compromise is a core part of the peace making process. Through compromise bridges can be built and eventually trust. But compromises that are made too quickly and without broader buy-in are cheap, and may be the reason why a process fails. In the end it comes down to time and sincerity.
Voice
Marina Danoyan
What’s your role at CMI?
I work in the Women in Peacemaking team, where I contribute to advancing the political agency of diverse women leaders and constituencies in conflict prevention and resolution. My work focuses on Ukraine and Afghanistan, where our team supports women’s movements and leaders to advance human rights, build resilience, and help construct viable pathways to peace.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
In our work, we prioritise giving voice to women and marginalised groups in Ukraine and Afghanistan, ensuring they are active participants rather than silent observers in peace and recovery processes. By centering their perspectives, we help build more inclusive and sustainable pathways forward. In fact, true peace requires active inclusion, and we make that a priority in our work.
Ownership
Elisa Tarnaala
What’s your role at CMI?
I work as a Senior Adviser at CMI. My current work focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. In these contexts, I concentrate particularly on women’s rights and participation in peace processes, as well as on broader issues of societal inclusion in transitions from war and conflict to peace.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
A peace agreement is rarely the product of a single intervention; it emerges from a complex interplay of power politics, national dynamics, local support, and individual commitment. Lasting peace is only possible when those involved see it as their own and are willing to transform the dynamics of conflict and revenge. External actors can help open doors and support dialogue, but a peace that is not rooted in local ownership and legitimacy is likely to remain fragile.
Trust
Oskari Eronen
What’s your role at CMI?
I lead CMI’s entire programme meaning all our efforts in conflict prevention and resolution across the regions and themes. Great deal of my time is spent supporting our teams and projects. But also trying to make sense of the big picture, changes in the world and how our mediation and dialogue efforts should respond and adjust to these trends.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
Trust is very difficult to measure and it’s not an absolute thing. You can feel when it’s gone. But you can also feel when it’s being repaired. Even small dose of emerging trust helps to move, interact and believe that it’s worth taking the next steps too. Societal trust is one of the most powerful indicators for functioning, stable and just societies.
Skills
Njoki Githieya
What’s your role at CMI?
I work in the Sub-Saharan Africa Team, focusing specifically on the Horn of Africa. My project aims to enable constructive engagement by regional and international actors on conflict prevention and resolution in the Horn of Africa.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
Conflict resolution skills are essential to our project’s success. By prioritising listening, respectful dialogue, and a shared commitment to finding common ground, we navigate complex questions of peace and conflict as we seek lasting solutions together.
Courage
Maruan El-Krekshi
What’s your role at CMI?
I lead CMI’s engagement in the Middle East and North Africa region, with various projects aiming at national cohesion and increased regional cooperation on stabilisation efforts.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
Our stakeholders are demonstrating great courage through their engagement in dialogue, despite multifaceted security concerns.
Hope
Eeva Lehtinen
What’s your role at CMI?
I work in CMI’s Myanmar team and have been involved with Myanmar from 2015. Through our engagement, we offer perspectives and tools for the conflict actors to build agency to move from armed to political process.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
Many conflicts may appear intractable, but many conflicts have appeared intractable until the very moment they have ended. There is always hope and that hope is not based on wishful thinking but evidence of overcoming impossible challenges.
Future
Ilmari Luna
What’s your role at CMI?
I work in the Sub-Saharan Africa team, focusing on advancing a ceasefire and restarting an inclusive political process in Sudan. Through informal dialogue, we provide spaces for Sudanese political and civilian actors to build trust and find common ground on key national issues, in support of ongoing multilateral mediation efforts.
How is the term you discussed in your video reflected in your work?
In Sudan, discussing the future is not abstract; it is a political act. Despite the ongoing war, youth, women, and other civilian actors continue to engage in dialogue about Sudan’s future. Our work is grounded in the belief that even in the darkest moments, creating space for inclusive dialogue today lays the foundation for a legitimate and sustainable peace tomorrow.
